Updated

12/28/2017 - 1:15pm

Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returned to Kabul Thursday after ending 15 years of rebellion against the Afghan government. He happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to Star Wars character Count Dooku, the Sith Lord.

Ben Patton comes from a long line of famous general and West Point graduates, but he chose a far different path, as a filmmaker. Yet that's led him back to the military as he teaches veterans how to deal with their war experiences by making movies.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh always wanted to go to school, even if she and her friends had to dodge the Taliban to hold classes. Now, after studying in the US, she's back in Afghanistan helping other young women get the educations they need to improve their country.

Former Defense Department official Michèle Flournoy says a new government should give Afghans reasons to be hopeful about their country's future. And Omar Sharifi, an Afghan graduate student in the US, is on board.

Serving as a local interpreter for the US during the war in Afghanistan was a deeply risky move. It was like putting a target on your head for Taliban fighters. The US promised to help interpreters, but for two of them, the road to their holiday lunch this week reunited in the US was long and complex.

When Rezagul's son died in a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint, she literally look matters into her own hands. The story of her seven-hour gun battle, in which she killed 25 Taliban fighters, has drawn rare unified praise from conservative and liberal voices in the country.

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Canadian Omar Khadr was just 15 when he allegedly threw a grenade in Afghanistan that injured Sergeant Layne Morris and killed another American. Now Khadr is suing the Canadian government for $20 million and Sergeant Morris intends to stop him from using that money.

Afghans face the possible consequences of the US release of five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. The move could strengthen the Taliban in their country, just as US forces are drawing down. Which has some Afghans wondering, "What was the US government thinking?!"

Signing up to interpret for the US military in Afghanistan was the beginning of a long, tragic journey for Mohammad Usafi. Because of his work, the Taliban killed his father and threatened his family. Now, he's living in California and hoping to get his relatives to safety as well.

Afghanistan's new president, Ashraf Ghani, says he's free of the corruption and violence that taint many Afghan politicians. And after quickly signing a long-delayed security pact with the US, he's looking for other ways to break with the country's recent past.

When Rezagul's son died in a Taliban attack on a police checkpoint, she literally look matters into her own hands. The story of her seven-hour gun battle, in which she killed 25 Taliban fighters, has drawn rare unified praise from conservative and liberal voices in the country.

Serving as a local interpreter for the US during the war in Afghanistan was a deeply risky move. It was like putting a target on your head for Taliban fighters. The US promised to help interpreters, but for two of them, the road to their holiday lunch this week reunited in the US was long and complex.

Former Defense Department official Michèle Flournoy says a new government should give Afghans reasons to be hopeful about their country's future. And Omar Sharifi, an Afghan graduate student in the US, is on board.

Shabana Basij-Rasikh always wanted to go to school, even if she and her friends had to dodge the Taliban to hold classes. Now, after studying in the US, she's back in Afghanistan helping other young women get the educations they need to improve their country.

Ben Patton comes from a long line of famous general and West Point graduates, but he chose a far different path, as a filmmaker. Yet that's led him back to the military as he teaches veterans how to deal with their war experiences by making movies.

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